


Dating on a Budget

by Ryuchu



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 04:19:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13286829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryuchu/pseuds/Ryuchu
Summary: When both you and your boyfriend prefer to spend more money on your hobbies than food, sometimes you have to improvise for dates.





	Dating on a Budget

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chibbers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibbers/gifts).



> A Mishima Secret Santa present for @Chibi_Pls over on Twitter! Your original Santa had to drop, so I'm sorry that this is so late, but I do hope that you enjoy!

Slowly, laboriously, Yusuke allowed himself to pull away from the canvas splayed on the floor. He unfurled each joint, feeling them pop back into place as he began to regain a sense of both himself and the space around him. It was easy to ignore the pain and whispers at the back of his mind when he was engaged in his painting, but eventually he had to stop and the all too human aches would creep back into him. His eyes pulled back into focus as he surveyed the work he had been absorbed in for the past several hours.

He had set out to paint a piece for the upcoming exhibit he would be participating in, but it appeared that he had fallen victim to self-indulgence yet again.

Rather than a painting of trees dusted with snow or the thin lines of a hare bounding across the canvas - something befitting of the “A Glimpse of Winter” theme the moderator had requested of him - there was the face of a boy staring back at him. Although perhaps, he mused, calling him a boy was a bit of a disservice; after all, he had just turned twenty-eight (“For a whole two months I get to be a year older than you. I expect the proper respect!”). But the face that stared back at him was him at a younger age, his cheeks red from the biting cold, his smile wide, and his eyes sparkling as he eagerly looks to the sky, palms outstretched to catch falling snowflakes for a fleeting moment before they melted away.

It was a rare moment where his guard was completely down; instead of the occasional glimpse that was given and then immediately followed with an apology, it was a moment where Yuuki had allowed himself to be unequivocally happy. Even back then, Yusuke had answered to an unknown whisper in his heart, using his hands as a makeshift frame to commit the moment - his expression so unlike the ones he usually offered - to memory.

Beautiful.

At the time he had thought that was the only emotion he associated with that moment; the rare opportunity to glimpse the broken bird flying into the air, forgetting that it had ever been injured in the first place. However, over the weeks he found his thoughts faltering back to that moment, examining it from every angle, asking himself what was it about this particular moment, this particular boy, that had so captured his attention.

It wouldn’t be until several years later and their unexpected reconnection after college that he would find the answer to that question.

“Heh,” Yusuke muttered to himself as he stood, his joints cracking once more, “Perhaps this is fitting for the theme after all.”

Suddenly, Yusuke’s stomach gave a low rumble as if protesting the fact that the past several hours had been spent painting rather than feeding it. It was only then that Yusuke finally noticed the sweet smell that was wafting into the room, which probably only served to compound his stomach’s grumbling. It would have to wait, however, because he had plans for a date.

As he descended the steps from his makeshift loft/atelier, the smell only grew stronger and more sickeningly sweet as well as being suddenly accompanied by several voices. Although he had planned to go to his room to change into something more befitting a date, he instead turned his attention towards these unusual disturbances. When he stepped into the kitchen’s entryway, everything suddenly came into sharp focus.

Yuuki stood in the kitchen with his back to him, an apron tied around his waist protecting a shirt that was assuredly Yusuke’s rather than his own considering how it seemed to fit him just a bit too snuggly. The countertop was splayed with an interesting combination of ingredients and technology, flour and sugar interspersed with Yuuki’s laptop and cellphone, both open to cooking tutorial videos that were playing at the same time at full volume. On the stove there was a large, flat skillet that was giving off gentle steam.

Yusuke would’ve been left guessing what his boyfriend was making were it not for the fact that the videos said “crepe” several times. However, this just stood to raise further questions. He and Yuuki had decided to go get crepes, so what was he doing cooking crepes in their kitchen?

As he watched, his hands raising to once again frame and capture this quite, intimate moment, Yuuki turned his head to consult one of his videos. He had haphazardly pinned back his gone-without-a-haircut-too-long bangs with a handful of gaudy, floral hair clips and the expression on his face was one of pure determination.

For a second, Yusuke felt his heart leap before he cleared his throat to force it back into place.

“Yuuki, what are you doing?”

At the sound of his name, the other man started, nearly dropping his spatula in surprise. He whipped around suddenly, quickly hitting pause on both his videos before turning his full attention to Yusuke.

“Oh, Yusuke,” he responded, as if there would be anyone else standing in the kitchen of their apartment with him, “Sorry. Did I bug you while you were painting?”

“No, it’s quite alright. I had already finished my piece for the day.”

“Really? Think this one’ll be the one you’ll use for the exhibit?”

“Hm...I might,” as Yusuke spoke, he stepped further into the kitchen, prompting Yuuki to shuffle over and hide the skillet from sight, “But I suppose I would need your permission for that.”

“My permission?” Yuuki echoed confused.

“It is a portrait of you, after all.”

The sudden flush on Yuuki’s cheeks was a perfect match to the red Yusuke had painted them earlier, although this time they were brought on by embarrassment rather than the cold. A smile ghosted over Yusuke’s face as he leaned down and placed a kiss on each of Yuuki’s cheeks.

“The portrait is nice, but it can never quite capture the beauty of the real thing.”

Yuuki’s face turned an even more vibrant shade of scarlet as he immediately averted his eyes.

Ah. Yusuke had forgotten to include the fact that Yuuki’s ears also turned red when he blushed - an important factor to remember to add to the piece upstairs.

“God, how can you just...come out and say cheesy stuff like that with a completely straight face? We’re almost thirty, y’know.”

“It is merely an observation,” Yusuke replied with a smile, “And age does not necessarily diminish the beauty of things. Some things only burn brighter the older they are.”

“Maybe this is why everyone was calling you a weirdo at the planetarium all those years ago- oh crap!”

As if suddenly remembering himself, Yuuki quickly turned around and shuffled the now slightly overcooked crepe pastry onto a plate. He clicked his tongue in clear annoyance, but began to ladle another swath of batter onto the skillet. Yusuke watched for several seconds before settling his chin on Yuuki’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around his waist. To his gratification, Yuuki leaned in slightly at each point of contact, silently demanding more of his touch.

“May I ask why you are making crepes when we're going to get them later tonight?”

“Because we already blew all of this month’s budget.”

The blunt, completely unromantic response threw Yusuke for a second as he turned to look at Yuuki’s face, certain that there would be a mischievous smile on his lips. Instead, he looked deadly serious, his eyes concentrating on the crepe in front of him as if his life depended on it.

“But it’s...only the 7th.”

“Yup.”

“What did we spend so much money on in such a short amount of time, Yuuki?”

That one caused Yuuki to pause as he winced.

“Well, you bought those watercolors and I bought a new laptop and we went over budget for December and said we would cut back in January, but uh, I guess we kinda failed at that already. So I thought maybe today’s crepe date could be a...budget crepe date.”

“Surely we could afford to go out for crepes?”

“First we’d have to get the train tickets to and from Harajuku,” As he spoke, Yuuki removed the second crepe from the skillet, “Then we’d have to get the crepes themselves. But since we already have the ingredients, if we stay home it’s basically free. I mean, I _guess_ we could do it, but it would probably eat into your art supply budget.”

“Clearly that is not an option,” Yusuke’s eyes narrowed and hardened as he spoke.

“I knew that was what you would say,” Yuuki answered with a laugh, “So...budget crepe date! That’s...okay with you, right?”

“Hm, well, it does give me the chance to make the crepe specifically to my liking. So yes, let’s try this...budget date.”

Yuuki gave him a quick peck on the cheek before handing him one of the plates, leaving Yusuke to fill his own crepe however he liked. He watched his boyfriend go immediately for the many sweet toppings he had prepared before making the crepes - strawberries, pineapple, cream, chocolate sauce. A part of Yusuke had expected that Yuuki’s sweet tooth might fade with age, but it only seemed to grow all the more present.

Yusuke, on the other hand, had never been much for sweets and usually elected to choose one of the more plain options.

But now that he could fill it however he liked on this budget date…

Rather than sitting down at the table and partaking in all the sweet options Yuuki had laid out, he made his way to the fridge and grabbed leftovers from dinner several nights ago. It had been a rare night when Yuuki had actually cooked (in retrospect, he had probably been aware of their tightening financial situation even then and that was why), and it would be a shame to let his hard work go to waste.

As he sat opposite of his boyfriend, watching him carefully arrange his crepe to ensure he could fill it to maximum capacity without it bursting, he began to work on his own crepe. First, he spread miso onto the pastry, followed by a layer of mushroom rice, and topped it all off with the salmon fillet. As he rolled his pastry with satisfaction, he looked up to find Yuuki doing the same.

“Done!” He said proudly as he held out his concoction. Even with only being able to see the tip of it, it was clear it was a mess of cream, fruits, and chocolate, stuffed far more than any crepe would’ve been at a shop.

“And I have finished as well,” Yusuke declared proudly, holding out his own savory creation. Mishima looked at him in confusion as he spotted the rice and fish. His eyes then feel to Yusuke's side of the table, which was dotted with dinner plates and an open tub of miso, before once again returning to Yusuke's face. Confusion had become immediately tinged with horror.

“Did you...just use leftovers?”

“You did say that this was a budget date, correct?”

“...You are seriously the only person I know that would bother to take that idea to that illogical extreme. Are you even going to eat that?”

“I do believe that is the point, yes.”

“There’s no way you’re going to finish that entire thing.”

“Of course I will,” Yusuke responded with a self-satisfied smile, “We are on a tight budget, after all. We can’t afford to waste food.”

Mishima eyed him suspiciously as he began to bite into his own crepe. Yusuke returned his gaze, calm, assured, as he brought his own crepe to his lips. For every inch it moved closer to Yusuke’s mouth, Yuuki seemed to lean in in response, his eyes alight with curiosity.

Ah. Another slight tweak that needed to be made to the piece. His eyes sparkled so much more when he was unabashedly excited than Yusuke remembered.

At the first bite, Yuuki gave an audible gasp.

It was a bit of an odd taste, the crepe giving the entire thing a sweet tinge that otherwise wouldn’t have been there. Yusuke paused for a moment before taking a second bite, which earned him more open-mouthed staring from Yuuki.

He managed to wait a whole ten second before the clear curiosity on his face finally worked its way into a question: “So? How is it?”

“Hm,” Yusuke said, tipping his head back in thought, “I suppose it’s about what I would expect of a budget crepe. It tastes...slightly off brand.”

“Yusuke, seriously, it tastes that way because you put dinner leftovers in there. You’re eating rice and fish and miso in a crepe.”

“Would you care to try a bite?” Yusuke asked as he held the crepe out to him.

Yusuke watched as Yuuki looked back-and-forth between the offered crepe and his boyfriend’s face.

“You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

Suddenly, Yuuki leaned across the table, completely avoiding the crepe and going instead for Yusuke's lips. In surprise, Yusuke opened his mouth and Yuuki took that opportunity to let his tongue eagerly explore, the taste of sickening sweetness suddenly overwhelming Yusuke’s senses as he finally remembered to kiss back. He angled his head, hoping to give Yuuki easier access and extend the kiss just a little bit longer. Much too soon for Yusuke’s liking, however, Yuuki pulled away, wiping his lips on his sleeve as he stuck out his tongue.

“I am so glad I did not take a bite of that. Even just tasting it in that kiss was awful.”

As Yuuki returned to his own crepe, muttering about needing to get that taste out of his mouth as soon as possible, Yusuke couldn’t help but stare.

Ah. Another thing to change in the painting. His smile could be much wider, much more delighted and mischievous.


End file.
